(Paris) Former world number one Simona Halep said on Friday she would “fight to the end” to prove she had not knowingly taken a banned substance after being provisionally suspended for doping.
Posted at 10:12 a.m.
Updated at 10:19 a.m.
A sample provided by Halep, 31, at the U.S. Open in late August showed traces of Roxadustat, a drug that stimulates red blood cell production and is used to treat patients with kidney problems, the official said. International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The Romanian player, current world No.9, immediately reacted on her social networks, believing that the positive test was “the biggest shock of (my) life”.
“Throughout my career, the idea of cheating has never crossed my mind once, because it is totally against all the values with which I was brought up,” she said. for follow-up.
“I will fight until the end to prove that I never knowingly took a prohibited substance and I am sure that sooner or later the truth will come out. »
At the end of August, the winner of Roland-Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019 was eliminated in the first round of the United States Open by the Ukrainian Daria Snigur, yet from the qualifications.
On September 15, after a nose operation, she already announced on Twitter that her season was over and that she would not play again until 2023.